December 23, 2024

It Is Well (Through It All)

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Grand earth has quaked before
Moved by the sound of His voice
Seas that are shaken and stirred
Can be calmed and broken for my regard

And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And through it all, through it all
It is well
And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And it is well with me

Far be it from me to not believe
Even when my eyes can’t see
And this mountain that’s in front of me
Will be thrown into the midst of the sea

So let go, my soul, and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name

It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul

Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You, Lord
Through it all, through it all
It is well with me

Bethel Music
written by Kristene DeMarco
Traditional hymn, It Is Well, written by Horatio Spafford

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  • From the beginning of Creation, the earth has responded to the voice of God, its Creator. (Genesis 1)
  • As the Israelites escaped from the Egyptians, the Red Sea parted at God’s command. (Exodus 13:17-14:31)
  • When the disciples were in the raging storm on the Sea of Galilee, it was calmed at the voice of Jesus. (Mark 4:35-41)
  • When God speaks and nature responds, it’s for a reason. When Christ was dying on the Cross, for the sins committed by each of us, there was great pain (spiritually and physically) and Christ cried out and the earth responded with a quake. (Matthew 27:46-56)

Our God is sovereign over all of Creation…and that includes each of us.

When we pass through the waters, He will be there for us.

But now thus says the Lord,
He who created you, O Jacob,
He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Isaiah 43:1-3

Whether we are escaping the enemy of our soul or the storms and pains of daily life, our God can command calm.  Whether it is physical, emotional, financial, relational, or spiritual, because Christ paid the price on the Cross, it can be “calmed and broken for my regard.”  He knows our pain and so much more.  We may not see the answers immediately, but our hope is built on nothing less than our faith in Jesus’ cleansing blood and righteousness.

The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Romans 10:8-11

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses,
but we have One who has been tempted in every way,
just as we are—yet He did not sin.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:15-16

Through it all, He is Emmanuel—God with us.  When the mountains in our life are too big for us to climb, Jesus wants us to have the faith to command it to be thrown into the sea.

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.
Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,
‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart,
but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer,
believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:23

When we are going through hard times in our lives, God wants us to keep our eyes on Jesus.  It is with the authority of Christ given to us that we can speak His Name to the mountains and storms.  He is our Salvation…spirit, soul, and body.

So let go, my soul, and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His Name…
…Through it all
It is well, it is well with me

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Lord Jesus, oh how, we love You!  All of us have waves and wind and mountains that try to stop us in our tracks (and sometimes they do for a time) but through it all You give us the love and confidence to say, “it is well with my soul.”  Help us by Your Holy Spirit to keep our eyes fixed on You and not on our circumstances.  We have our faith in You so we can say, “Though we pass through the waters You are with us, so we will not drown!”  Thank You!  In Jesus’ precious Name, Amen.

Ever-Present Help in Troubles

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God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
Psalms 46:1-3

“If one more thing goes wrong I’m going to scream!” These were my thoughts the day after Christmas. I’d been sent home early from work again…I had worked only 10 hours in four days. For those of you that don’t know, I live by myself (a “problem” that will soon be rectified) and 10 hours at my non-degree teacher’s pay is not going to do anything for paying my bills.

I had already concluded that moving home would be best and, of course, was ready to hang in there for two more months, but I didn’t need any additional stress added to the situation. Really! The stress level of the situation is high enough on its own.

I pondered…simmering in my frustrations all afternoon. I was angry. Angry at myself, my job, and my circumstances. And I felt my anger was justified. After all, I feel I’m doing the right thing and doing the right thing should be easy. I smiled at the thought, wondering what fairytale I had pulled that out of. “…doing the right thing should be easy!” But if so then Paul never would have written, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (Galatians 6:9).

When I feel discouraged or down, I like to read stories in the Bible that are similar to my own situation. I particularly favor the Old Testament. The story that came to mind? The Israelites crossing the Red Sea. This account is found in Exodus 13:17- 14:31.

What I noticed is that God did not take the Israelites through the short way because “if they face war, they might change there minds and return to Egypt” (Exodus 13:17). God knew the people’s hearts and what lay ahead. He saved them from dangers that they knew nothing of. Then He set them up at the Red Sea to see His glory.

Day and night they could see the Lord’s Presence, His continuous visual reminder that He was a constant help in time of trouble and yet, even that didn’t stop them from saying, “Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’” (Exodus 14:12).

We can be so quick to fear, grow weary and forget that God is always there, even if He is staring us in the face. Don’t be so overcome by troubles that you forget about God—your ever-present help during time of trouble.

Lord, let me never be blind to Your ever present help. Praying in Jesus’ Name. Amen.